Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment.What Spike Jonze lacks in stature he more than makes up for with his grand creative vision — or does he? Writers Sachin Gadh and Jonathan Sender have filed a lawsuit against the director, alleging he stole the idea for his latest film from them. In 2011, Gadh and Sender sent a screenplay called Belv to the Creative Artists Agency, which also reps Jonze, but they were told the CAA doesn't accept unsolicited scripts. When they saw Jonze's Her debut last year, the pair saw similarities between the two stories.
While we haven't been able to track down a copy of the Belv script, it reportedly revolves around a cell phone that comes to life after a fluke with a microwave and becomes the main character's wingman. According to TMZ, the suit also alleges that both Her and Belv involve a love interest carried around in the main character's front pocket, and both "examine the human psyche through interactions between the character and the computer."
IMDB.com has no listing for "Sachin Gadh" and only one for a "Jonathan Sender," whose sole credit was as the dialogue editor for an animated short series called Mr. Pig & Mr. Duck in 2005.
Based on TMZ's description alone, it doesn't seem as though the screenwriters have much of a case; Scarlett Johansson's sultry OS, Samantha, wasn't exactly a witty wingman. Maybe they were thinking of TED? (TMZ)